For lawyers planning to sue Penn State University over how it dealt with allegations that Jerry Sandusky sexually abused boys, Thursday's report gives them the kind of investigation that they likely could not afford to do themselves. The report, commissioned by the university and prepared by former FBI Director Louis B. Freeh, found that top university officials, "in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity" for the university, "repeatedly concealed critical facts" from authorities.

By JOHN P. MARTIN AND JAKE KAPLAN | The Philadelphia Inquirer | December 8, 2011

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Jerry Sandusky was jailed Wednesday after prosecutors lodged more child sex-abuse charges against the former football coach and a judge ordered him held until he could post $250,000 cash bail. Attorney General Linda Kelly said the two accusers came forward after Sandusky was charged last month with molesting eight other boys since the 1990s, when he was defensive coordinator under coach Joe Paterno at Pennsylvania State University. Like the others, both alleged victims say they met Sandusky through the Second Mile, the charity he founded for underprivileged children.

The door of the police cruiser had barely slammed on Jerry Sandusky, his loopy grin finally replaced by what appeared to be a dim understanding of his circumstance, when Pennsylvania State University announced its next phase of damage control in the matter of Sandusky's sexual-abuse victims. "The university plans to invite victims of Mr. Sandusky's abuse to participate in a program to facilitate the resolution of claims against the university arising out of Mr. Sandusky's conduct," school president Rodney Erickson said in a statement released just after the 45 guilty verdicts against Sandusky were brought in Friday night.

The trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky ended with a lengthy list of guilty verdicts, but the questions that remain unanswered go further than what his sentence will be. A chain of e-mails has surfaced in the independent investigation being conducted by former FBI director Louis J. Freeh on behalf of Penn State's board of trustees. These e-mails, first reported by CNN, concern the 2001 incident in which Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant football coach, caught Sandusky in the shower sexually assaulting a young boy. And they reportedly involve the correspondence of several former Penn State officials: former President Graham B. Spanier; Gary Schultz, a former vice president who is charged with perjury and failing to report the incident; and Tim Curley, the suspended athletic director who was also charged with perjury and failing to report the incident.

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Jerry Sandusky's attorneys opened their client's defense Monday by calling to the stand two former coaching colleagues who said that it was routine for adults and boys to shower together in large public locker rooms. Richard Anderson, a college teammate and Penn State coaching colleague of Sandusky's, was the first to testify, and vouched for the defendant's "wonderful" reputation. When asked by prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III if he'd seen Sandusky showering with boys, Anderson answered, "Yes.

ST. JOSEPH -- Look the other way, the mentality that apparently allowed the Jerry Sandusky tragedy to continue to unfold at Penn State University for more than a decade, won't find an ally in Erin Merryn. To the contrary, the 27-year-old Schaumburg, Ill., resident, who said that as a child she endured in silence two prolonged periods of sexual abuse, is on a mission to make certain people don't look the other way. She's pitching legislation, known as Erin's Law, to protect children from sexual predators, with a goal of having it enacted in all 50 states.

SOUTH BEND - When Sara Ganim received a tip that former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was the target of a grand jury investigation into allegations of child sex abuse, she knew it was a story she needed to pursue. She didn't know at the time that she'd soon be reporting on Sandusky's indictment on 40 counts of sex crimes against young boys, the forced resignation of the university president and the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno. “I was never a sports reporter, and this was never a sports story to me,” said Ganim, 24, the reporter for the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., who last March broke the news of the grand jury investigation.

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Jerry Sandusky has chosen to remain silent. After much anticipation that the former Penn State assistant football coach would directly address the child sex abuse charges against him, his lead attorney, Joe Amendola, faced Judge John Cleland shortly before noon Wednesday and said, "Your honor, at this time the defense rests." The prosecution also rested. Such was the anticlimactic end of testimony in the Sandusky trial. Sandusky's voice has been heard by the jury only in an excerpt of the interview he gave to Bob Costas of NBC last fall, shortly after he was arrested.

LOS ANGELES -- The last of eight accusers who say they were sexually abused by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky testified Thursday as the prosecution case moved toward completion. The testimony ended four days of often graphic descriptions of how Sandusky gave the boys gifts and attention, then demanded inappropriate touching and, in some cases, sex. After the 18-year-old man completed his testimony, Judge John Cleland said the trial would resume Monday.

ST. JOSEPH -- Look the other way, the mentality that apparently allowed the Jerry Sandusky tragedy to continue to unfold at Penn State University for more than a decade, won't find an ally in Erin Merryn. To the contrary, the 27-year-old Schaumburg, Ill., resident, who said that as a child she endured in silence two prolonged periods of sexual abuse, is on a mission to make certain people don't look the other way. She's pitching legislation, known as Erin's Law, to protect children from sexual predators, with a goal of having it enacted in all 50 states.

ST. JOSEPH - Look the other way, the mentality that apparently allowed the Jerry Sandusky tragedy to continue to unfold at Penn State University for more than a decade, won't find an ally in Erin Merryn. To the contrary, the 27-year-old Schaumburg, Ill., resident who said, as a child she endured in silence two prolonged periods of sexual abuse, is on a mission to make certain people don't look the other way. She's pitching legislation, known as Erin's Law, to protect children from sexual predators, with a goal of having it enacted in all 50 states.

For lawyers planning to sue Penn State University over how it dealt with allegations that Jerry Sandusky sexually abused boys, Thursday's report gives them the kind of investigation that they likely could not afford to do themselves. The report, commissioned by the university and prepared by former FBI Director Louis B. Freeh, found that top university officials, "in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity" for the university, "repeatedly concealed critical facts" from authorities.

The trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky ended with a lengthy list of guilty verdicts, but the questions that remain unanswered go further than what his sentence will be. A chain of e-mails has surfaced in the independent investigation being conducted by former FBI director Louis J. Freeh on behalf of Penn State's board of trustees. These e-mails, first reported by CNN, concern the 2001 incident in which Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant football coach, caught Sandusky in the shower sexually assaulting a young boy. And they reportedly involve the correspondence of several former Penn State officials: former President Graham B. Spanier; Gary Schultz, a former vice president who is charged with perjury and failing to report the incident; and Tim Curley, the suspended athletic director who was also charged with perjury and failing to report the incident.

The door of the police cruiser had barely slammed on Jerry Sandusky, his loopy grin finally replaced by what appeared to be a dim understanding of his circumstance, when Pennsylvania State University announced its next phase of damage control in the matter of Sandusky's sexual-abuse victims. "The university plans to invite victims of Mr. Sandusky's abuse to participate in a program to facilitate the resolution of claims against the university arising out of Mr. Sandusky's conduct," school president Rodney Erickson said in a statement released just after the 45 guilty verdicts against Sandusky were brought in Friday night.

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Jerry Sandusky has chosen to remain silent. After much anticipation that the former Penn State assistant football coach would directly address the child sex abuse charges against him, his lead attorney, Joe Amendola, faced Judge John Cleland shortly before noon Wednesday and said, "Your honor, at this time the defense rests." The prosecution also rested. Such was the anticlimactic end of testimony in the Sandusky trial. Sandusky's voice has been heard by the jury only in an excerpt of the interview he gave to Bob Costas of NBC last fall, shortly after he was arrested.

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Jerry Sandusky's attorneys opened their client's defense Monday by calling to the stand two former coaching colleagues who said that it was routine for adults and boys to shower together in large public locker rooms. Richard Anderson, a college teammate and Penn State coaching colleague of Sandusky's, was the first to testify, and vouched for the defendant's "wonderful" reputation. When asked by prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III if he'd seen Sandusky showering with boys, Anderson answered, "Yes.

LOS ANGELES -- The last of eight accusers who say they were sexually abused by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky testified Thursday as the prosecution case moved toward completion. The testimony ended four days of often graphic descriptions of how Sandusky gave the boys gifts and attention, then demanded inappropriate touching and, in some cases, sex. After the 18-year-old man completed his testimony, Judge John Cleland said the trial would resume Monday.

SOUTH BEND - When Sara Ganim received a tip that former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was the target of a grand jury investigation into allegations of child sex abuse, she knew it was a story she needed to pursue. She didn't know at the time that she'd soon be reporting on Sandusky's indictment on 40 counts of sex crimes against young boys, the forced resignation of the university president and the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno. “I was never a sports reporter, and this was never a sports story to me,” said Ganim, 24, the reporter for the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., who last March broke the news of the grand jury investigation.